MEPs nominate Sentsov for Sakharov Prize

This week the European Parliament president Antonio Tajani and the leaders of the political groups during the Conference of Presidents meeting will select this year’s winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from among the three finalists. The prize will be awarded in a ceremony in Strasbourg on 12 December.

The biggest political group – the European Peoples Party (EPP) – has nominated Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov who was sentenced for 20 years’ imprisonment by a Russian court on charges of plotting terrorist acts against Russian authorities in Crimea, in a process deemed unfair by human rights watchdogs.

On 14 May, Sentsov went on hunger strike, lasting over 100 days, to call for the release of around 70 other Ukrainian citizens who are to his opinion illegally arrested and convicted to long prison sentences by Russian judges.

Oleg Sentsov has become the voice of Ukrainian political prisoners. His call for their freedom & justice is also a call for the respect of the values we all share in the EU. Discover why we decided to support his nomination for this year's #SakharovPrize#FreeSentsov 👇 pic.twitter.com/V7hIaEXFpR